Axolotl in Fridge

[Kozza]

Hi All,

I have just ended up taking care of axolotl, and after reading through the site, I think it's best for now to keep him/her in the fridge for the time being...... with the Australian summer at the moment I don't think I have much chance of keep the water around 20degrees or less.
Also, the previous carer told me that it hadn't been eating for a week or so, which I'm guessing could have either been heat stress..... (although it still looks like it has a healthy body weight)

1) I saw one thread that said to keep the container covered while it was in the fridge (to prevent it jumping out), so now I'm wondering if it's ok if the container is sealed (like airtight) ? is air important to axolotl's or is the water enough.... and if so, will I need to open it periodically to let in new air?
I'm also wondering if it would be a problem if anything else in the fridge was to leak into the container (well, apart from the axie everything else in the fridge is edible)

2) will it be safe to keep it in the fridge until the weather becomes a bit cooler? possibly a few months...

3) how often should I change the water while it's in the fridge? and also, how often should I feed, (or at least offer food), while in the fridge? Will it be happier if I just leave it alone until things cool off in the world outside the fridge?


Thanks for any advice... hoping to workout something better long term, maybe an aquarium chiller or fans...

[Rayson]

Hi kozza,

To answer your first question, you can just cover the container with a porous netting, which allows you to view your axolotl and allow air exchange, yet preventing it from jumping out.

Theres no real harm in keeping the axie in the fridge, although it may become inappetant due to the lower metabolism. Just continue to offer food throughout. A variety of nutritious live food such as earthworms and bloodworms would be ideal. They can survive in the water for some time.

I would tend to change the water daily with clean dechlorinated water that is previously stored in the fridge as well to prevent drastic temperature shocks.

Cheers

[Kozza]

The netting should work great, does that mean oxygen (from air) is important?
Think I will leave the lid on for now, and find something to keep one side wedged open until I can get some netting.

Hadn't considered pre-refrigerating the new water... that should help him stay a bit more comfortable

Thanks Ray.


Do people in Australia generally have problems keeping axolotls healthy if they don't take steps to keep them cool?

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by Kozza

The netting should work great, does that mean oxygen (from air) is important?
Think I will leave the lid on for now, and find something to keep one side wedged open until I can get some netting.

Hadn't considered pre-refrigerating the new water... that should help him stay a bit more comfortable

Thanks Ray.


Do people in Australia generally have problems keeping axolotls healthy if they don't take steps to keep them cool?

Oxygen from the air is important for gas exchange with the water. Axolotls have gills and can take oxygen from the water but not if there isn't any in the water. Why not just poke some holes in the lid? A lot of SMALL holes from the inside going out the top?

And from what I read here - yes Aussies have a difficult time keeping their axies cool during the summer months. Heatstress leads to illness so yes that follows too.

I would say anyone in a hot climate (like me) typically has a difficult time keeping their axies cool. I don't have an issue because normally my house stays sufficiently cool, my tanks aren't near an outside wall, & they are in an inner room, w/screen tops (more air exchange).

Good on you for getting a jump on the issue so quick!

Sharon

[Kira]

Originally Posted by Kozza

Do people in Australia generally have problems keeping axolotls healthy if they don't take steps to keep them cool?

It can be hard sometimes to keep our axies cool and happy, but there are many ways that we do this without having to fridge our little onese for months. I have had a lot of problems this summer due to our recent heat wave, but I decided to become inventive and use some other peoples ideas to keep my tank cool. Now my tank is at a constant 17-18C. One day I hope to invest in a chiller, but at the moment, I don't have the money.

Here is what I did - offshoot for water cooling

Here is some info on cooling - http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cooling.shtml

[Jay]

G'day Kozza,

It will be alright to seal the container with a lid because oxygen deprivation is not be an issue in fridge, owing to the cooler temperature.

Gas saturation in water depends on two factors:

1). Temperature. A lower temperature means that there is more dissolved oxygen in the water. If you do a search for 'dissolved oxygen temperature table' on Google, you will see that at 1 degree Celsius, there is approximately 14.2 mg/L of dissolved oxygen. But when you compare this with 25 degrees Celsius, the amount of dissolved oxygen is decreased to 8.4 mg/L.

2). Surface current. If the surface of the water is constantly being agitated due to a fast/slow moving currrent, this will facilitate gas exchange with the environment.

By placing your axolotl in the fridge, you don't need to worry about it suffering from oxygen deprivation because there will be plenty of dissolved oxygen in the water. Also, by placing a lid over the container, you won't have to worry about food/liquid being introduced into the container by accident. Conversely, there isn't the concern of your axolotl splashing around, and spraying water (which more than likely contains Salmonella) onto food/liquid within the vicinity of the container.

Another thing is that the cooler temperature will slow down the axolotl's metabolism, hence, it will need less oxygen to carry out its metabolic activities.

Oh, and you could also wrap a tea towel around the container so the fridge light will not disturb the resting axolotl.

Jay.

[MinustheJimmy]

Originally Posted by Kal El

G'day Kozza,

Conversely, there isn't the concern of your axolotl splashing around, and spraying water (which more than likely contains Salmonella) onto food/liquid within the vicinity of the container.


Jay.

You say salmonella like it is a bad word. You more than likey (when i say more than likely i mean you do) consume salmonella bacteria every day. However you are correct, that is not something you want to encourage. I would suggest bottom shelf for the axolotl. You really don't need to be overly concerned with oxygen levels as long as the water is changed reasonably frequently.

[Kozza]

Thanks everyone for the advice and hints.

She (round body and no visible cloaca, it's a she?) has been doing well. Haven't put her in the fridge yet, but been doing full water changes every 1 - 1 1/2 days and keeping close eye on her. When I got her, she had a small red line on the middle of her back (basically where the tail line starts), and a red dot on the tip of her tail. Her back has cleared up, and the tail tip dot is getting smaller, so I think thats good? Also, she will eat most nights, but still not eating like she did before.

Kira, quite like the styrofoam idea... will try this if i can find materials

Jay, Very scientific answer! quite reassuring that she will be safe in the fridge covered up (don't think salmonella is on the list of beneficial bacteria.... )

Sharon, no idea why putting holes in the container didn't occur to me! If I ever need to leave her unsupervised and can't get someone to take care of her that may helpful.